Lighting of the future

LONDON:
One designer has threatened to wage war against them. Another reckons
they're so depressing that we'll be driven into psychotherapy. A
manufacturer describes them as "very unfriendly" and, even, "a little
violent."

The objects of their derision are compact fluorescent bulbs,
otherwise known as CFLs, the miniaturized versions of fluorescent strip
lights, which are touted as energy-efficient alternatives to the
incandescent bulbs that have lit our homes for over a century. The
problem is the quality of their light. "It's completely indifferent and
boring," said the German lighting designer, Ingo Maurer (the one who
thinks they'll be a boon for shrinks). "They make you feel as though
you're waiting for a bus or a train at a desolate station."